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At Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, agency and industry leaders spoke to members of the news media as the Jason-3 satellite and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket were being prepared for launch. Pictured is Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Mission Assurance for SpaceX.

Built by Thales Alenia of France, Jason-3 will measure the topography of the ocean surface for a four-agency international partnership consisting of NOAA, NASA, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France’s space agency, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.